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I am looking to trade in a Rosler upright (petrov family). It is a 44 inch former Chzechoslavakia piano. It looks and sounds great, just looking to upgrade. If have been trying to find value on this but have not had any luck. Any ideas on this?

If it is one of the black satin vinyl finish consoles, I would suggest $600-$800 wholesale value to a dealer. Name recognition in most markets is 0. Demand for the cabinet finish look is nearly 0 in the used market. Decent piano inside.

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Co-Author of The Complete Idiot's Guide To Buying A Piano. A "must read" before you shop. Work for west coast dealer for Yamaha, Schimmel, Bosendorfer, Wm. Knabe.

It plays rough and the tone is subpar compared to modern-day Petrof product.

Note the serial number and compare with yours. Hopefully, it's much newer. One thing to bear in mind is that Petrof is the company's top line, Weinbach is second level, and Rosler is the third. Another thing is that if it's a Soviet occupation era vintage, it will most likely have very little actual value to the dealer.

It's interesting to hear the Rosler name, as the first piano I played about 30 years ago was a Rosler. Then my mom purchases a Petrof, and I played it for the next 10 years. I played a grand in a concert hall in my home town a few times, and it was a Petrof. So these pianos define what piano "should" sound for me

When my sis was shopping for piano at around 1995, we played many different pianos and settle for a Petrof upright. Few years later when I shopped for piano, I ended up with a Petrof upright too. Now, I'm shopping for a grand, and who know what I'll end up. Our local dealer no longer carry Petrof though! So far, I felt Estonia is the closest to Petrof (& probably better, but hard to define this).

Sorry to post something irrelevant, but can't resist because Rosler was the 1st piano I played. Hopefully you will find a good buyer for the piano.

It doesn't seem irrelevant to me. It's kind of sad though that your chain of owner loyalty might be broken. You're about two years too late for a reasonably priced Petrof. Prices have gone through the roof since then. You might find some old stock though if you're willing to shop outside your hometown. P IV, P III, and P II are being phased out, and they are all terrific grands.

I think the $600-800 wholesale value is probably the best that you could expect for a piano that old, particularly in today's economy. However, what you get as a trade-in will depend on how anxious the dealer is to bargain.

1971 is as bad as 1964. It was 1968 when the hammer and sickle rolled in the tanks and really put the screws to Czechoslovakia. Still, if you love that Rosler, I'll bet it's a pretty nice piano. How about getting it tuned and trying craigslist?

The thing with the trade-in is that the dealer needs to make money on both ends of the deal. He needs to sell your trade-in at a profit and get his margin on the new grand as well. If the dealer gives you more $ in trade than he can expect from resale, invariably the price he negotiates with you on the new grand will take into account his expected loss on the trade-in. Simply speaking, your negotiating position on a new grand is much better and clearer without a trade-in.